Keep Reinventing Yourself

Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself.

Over the course of our journey through life there will be many crossroads. Times when we have to make life or career changing decisions. 

Almost always, without the benefit of in-depth analysis, most likely forced by circumstances and often only driven by our own instinct.

During these crossroads, there are only two possible outcomes, either you succeed or you fail.

But regardless of the outcome, you always end up a winner. Why? Well, because you tried.

In having tried you learned and in the process improved yourself. Therefore, never be afraid to try. Never stop improving yourself. Because improvement is growth and a clear path to a better you, a wiser you. Nothing beats experience when it comes to learning.

If there’s one thing I realized in life, it’s that we should never stop learning. Because learning leads to transformations.

Over the past 20+ years of my work life, I have gone through several reinventions, a series of transformations, 10 to be exact. Two out of 10 of these, I consider successful failures. Both were rich in learning and I consider as critical to major professional transformations I went through. They were vital in my journey towards becoming a better version of myself.

One happened very early in my career, the other more recently.

Early career transformation

The first one involved joining a previous manager in setting up a new company.

For a young, ambitious, fresh graduate, being part of a start-up was an exciting prospect. But like any start up, it had birthing pains, including financial problems, which meant not getting paid despite working very long hours.

Those were difficult times especially for someone with a young family to raise. I needed regular income to buy my son’s needs, i.e. milk, vaccines, vitamins, baby food, clothes, toys, to name a few. It was not ideal for someone in my situation, not at all.

But I cherished those years and consider them as my “MBA years”.

Over the 15-months I worked there, I did not get paid almost half of the time. But I learned so much about business management and start-ups. About cash flow and financial management, systems and process development. I learned about marketing and business development. I learned a lot about how government and business works.

I learned a lot of skills and developed competencies that were important in building my career. Skills and competencies that were critical in my next job and in setting up my own business eight years down the track.

This experience might have been a failure in employment, but it was a success in self-development and in building business acumen. So, would I trade it for a stable, high-paying job? Never, because that particular experience set me up for the rest of my life, and it was instrumental in achieving many of the successes I enjoyed later on.

Recent transformation

Another critical change I went through was very recently. It involved giving up the biggest Program we were managing. This was our most financially rewarding and prominent program.

Why give it up? Well, because it was time to let it go. I realized it was time for another transformation. In fact, it was probably long overdue. 

You see, having managed that program for more than a decade, I felt that I’ve become stagnant, things have become too routine and there was no growth. Doing something for too long meant I knew it like the palm of my hand, which can lead to complacency and mediocrity. Two things I don’t subscribe to.

When I think about it, I actually believe I overstayed in that Program. I probably should have left earlier when I had the chance or even moved to a different role. But I was too comfortable where I was. Successful as I might have been in managing it, professionally, I probably missed out on other opportunities. As such, the decision to let go, despite its financial implications to my business, to my family. 

But it had to be done. I needed to move forward and to experience new things. I felt I was at a point where I needed to be challenged once again, and I needed to transform. I needed to change.

I wasn’t really sure where this change would lead to, I had no idea, I was clueless. All I knew was it had to happen. I doubted myself, questioned my decision, but I always came back to the same realization, it was time to transform, it was time for reinvention. I held on to this belief, because it was the truth. It was the reality I had to embrace.

I told myself, if failure would be the outcome, then I needed to be prepared for it. I had to be ready to fall and to get back up. Because getting back up was more important. It was what I would have to measure myself against. How I got up, would define me.

Fear holds us back from trying, it holds us back from falling. But the reality is, sometimes we need to fall to get higher. I was prepared to fall, I was expecting it. I was ready.

Now, I am trying to get back up. Can I? I need to believe I could. Because the first creation starts in one's mind. Believe it and it will happen. That has worked for me so far, it has not failed me yet. I don’t believe it will fail me now and neither should you if you are going through a transformation yourself. 

Believe in You, you owe it to yourself. Most importantly, have faith in Him, he will not fail you.

On a new track

So, here I am, embarking on something entirely new and alien to me. Am I scared? No. 

Am I anxious? Of course. Why? Because I am treading on an unknown. 

Am I excited? Most certainly. Why? Because I am treading on an unknown, and it’s all new to me and because it presents numerous possibilities.

We must live by possibilities. Possibilities translate to opportunities. As long as there are possibilities we will always have a way forward and upward. 

So, I am excited. I am limited only by what I can imagine. If my imagination is unbounded then my possibilities are endless. My transformation limitless.

If there’s anything this pandemic has taught us, it’s this --- accept change, embrace it, learn to adapt quickly to it and act swiftly. That is key to survival. Live by instinct, believe in yourself, recognize your possibilities. Act on it. 

Remember, life is a continuous learning journey. Never stop learning. Never stop growing. Keep reinventing yourself. Don’t be stagnant, move.